Update on Singapore

We had a trainee from the Singapore office this week, and he told us that the first Singapore casino opened last week. (Remember the one I was taking pictures of?) Casinos aren't widely popular in Asia, but back in the States there was a casino close to every city I have lived in. And don't forget how much I love Las Vegas!!

Because casinos are such a new concept to Singapore they have some goofy rules:

1. Everyone must show their passport upon entering, and all Singaporeans must pay a entrance fee of SG$100 (USD~$70). Total craziness!! It's because authorities want tourists to come and spend their hard-earned money, not the locals. It's an interesting concept, and I wonder if it will cut down on gambling addiction?!

2. There is a government form that anyone can fill out and BAN a specific person from entering the casino! For instance, parents could fill one out for their son because they do not want him wasting his money. Or a husband could have a fight with his wife, and she could fill out a form and ban him from the casino for life!! My understanding is that this is very easy to do, and a specific relationship or reason is not required. Again, the reason is that they mainly want the casinos to attract tourists, and do not want to have any negative impacts on locals.

I did a research paper back in high school called "Casinos: Good or Bad?". My conclusion in the end was that casinos are actually bad for most communities. Casinos comes with gambling addicts, increased crime, and other unsavory factors. The economic "draw" is usually negated by locals who quit their current jobs to go work at the casino, which in turn raises wages everywhere and hurts many local businesses. Rather than creating jobs, casinos can cause other people to become employed and bankrupt due to their addictions. I think its very smart that Singapore is trying to prevent some of these negative factors from affecting their city.

Singapore: Final Thoughts

My last free evening in Singapore, I wanted to try a signature dish called "chicken rice", so me and 2 new friends from Thailand decided to try out Hawker Center. A Hawker Center is basically a giant food court with hundreds of authentic vendors, and the food is super cheap. The tables are also kind of dirty, and locals are constantly coming up to you trying to peddle their food, too. So you take the good with the bad...

Chicken rice was good. It's exactly what it sounds like: a bed of rice with strips of chicken on it and of course some special sauce. The strange part for me was that the entire body of the chicken was cut into strips, so I had tons of small bones I had to pick out or spit out while I was eating.

After dinner my Thai companions wanted to take me to Chinatown for some yummy dessert. They've been in Singapore many times and said they knew just the place! Here's a pic of me in Chinatown. It is decorated for the Chinese New Year (which begins Feb 14th). Dessert Time! It's called Milk Snow Ice and is a cross between ice cream and a snow cone. I got mango flavor--super yummy!!

On my fifth day in S'pore, I woke up and was ready to move on to my next adventure. I was getting tired of the hot, humid temperatures that made my hair frizzy and the air thick & sticky.

I overheard some Asians in my training class talking about where they went to dinner the previous night, and they said "We went to a restaurant where you could litter peanut shells!! It was so COOL!" That made me smile. Welcome to any Texas Roadhouse, Outback, or Logan's!! Comments like this help me remember that America has some pretty cool things, too!

My hotel in Singapore had a great buffet spread, and I got to try many new fruits such as: dragonfruit, guava, papaya, and yellow watermelon.

On the final day I also found out to Singaporeans take the concept of "feng shui" very seriously. For instance, the Singapore Flyer used to rotate in the other direction when it first opened, and then it was discovered that it was bad luck, so they switched it and now it rotates in the same direction as the sun!! In addition, the new building that I kept taking pictures of which has 3 columns is designed that way due to feng shui experts!! They say III or the number three is going to bring good fortune and many people to the new attraction!!

My final stop was, of course, the Singapore Airport. It's rated one of the best in the world to have a layover! There are many attractions and things to keep you busy, including 300+ shops, a free movie theater, indoor nature trail with koi pond, napping areas, spa services, and even a butterfly garden!!

I felt like I was at Krohn Conservatory!! Singapore really prides themselves on being a "green" city, and here's some human-sized recycling containers!!

The arrival area of the airport.

Even the departure area is pretty and colorful! Few people are here because they are either getting a massage or checking their email on one of the 200+ free internet terminals!

Finally, people all around the world call Sinagpore "a fine city" because they are known for their strict rules and fines that go along with them. I kept a close eye out, but I saw few such signs. Besides, I say there is nothing wrong with a little order in this world and having signs to warn people of the consequences. Here are some real-life examples:

--Smoking in restricted areas $500

--Spitting in public $300

--Not flushing a public toilet $150

--Littering $500

--Using chewing gum $800 (they don't sell it in the city, and possession isn't a crime--just chewing it!)

It's not always a fine--some times the penalty is DEATH for your crime! This is on the S'pore Immigration card!!

Singapore Flyer & Night Safari

Another free evening in Singapore, and I was ready to explore! First stop is the Singapore Flyer, which opened in 2008. At 165 meters tall (about 42 stories), it is the largest observation wheel in the world--that's 30 meters higher than the London Eye. Each "capsule" is the size of a city bus and has the capacity for 28 people.

The sky's the limit on this one!! One full rotation takes approximately 30 minutes.

View of the Kallang River. The high-rise buildings to the right are all apartments. Over 1,000,000 actually. They were one of the first things built when Singapore was settled in order to bring expatriates to the country!

View of ships waiting to enter the world's busiest port. Singapore Port handles one fifth of the world's shipping containers and over half of the world's crude oil!! The islands in the far distant are actually Indonesia. (On the opposite side of the Flyer you can often see the mountains of Malaysia, but it wasn't a very clear day for me to take a photo.)

Construction of the future IR (Integrated Resort). It's a fancy term for a casino development, along with hotels, conference centers, shopping, and plenty of other entertainment. This is the same construction I took a picture of from the boat tour, but at a different angle.

KG listening to her handheld guide and following along on the map.

Singapore rush hour... oddly, they often call it "Happy Hour"... hmm, maybe I need to check the drinking and driving laws!

The "13" Building. It was a lucky number for the architect.

Stadium seating I also took a pic of from the boat tour. This time you can see the "floating field" that goes along with it!

Singapore skyline of the Financial District. They are building a new swirly pedestrian bridge right next to the highway.

Next, I went to the world's first nocturnal zoo: Night Safari!! The head of the Mitsui Singapore office gave it rave reviews, so I had to give it a look.

The entire zoo is almost completely dark, with a 45-minute tram ride available and three walking trails which takes approximately 30 minutes each. They have 120 species and over 1,000 animals.

I started on the tram was shocked that there were no cages or fences and that many of the animals roamed around, resting on the tram trail or even 12 inches from the tram path. I am constantly shocked by the lack of safety measures in Asia. There are no guard rails on the tram. There are no gates for the pedestrians to know that a tram (with no headlights) is coming and you should get off of the path crossing. People could jump out of the tram, or animals could seemingly jump in at any time.

There were animals from 6 different continents, and many I had never heard of. We saw: lions, sloths, hyenas, deer, porcupines, elephants, giraffes, zebras, rhinos, hippos, tigers, and many others. I was pretty freaked out that the animals could be lurking any where in the dark. Some paths even had "rumble strips", I'm sure so the tram made some noise and scared the animals away a little bit. Towards the end, I did see some "moats" around a few of the exhibits, so at least I knew it was unlikely for jungle cats to pounce out and get me!

Well, if I was a little freaked out by the tram, I was in no way prepared for the walking trails. I was technically sightseeing by myself, but there were people and families every where, and every time a bush shook up ahead or a leaf dropped, I would jump a mile!! These nocturnal animals were just so creepy. I guess I really don't appreciate rare bats or other creepy Asian tree vermin. I have no doubt that if my zoo buddy from Cinci, Sarah, were with me, she would have been just as freaked out!! We would have been chasing each other from one scary exhibit to another. I think the worst part was the bird cages. You had to go through a series of magnetic doors to get into the exhibit, and the only way to get the second door to open was if the first one was closed. One time the room was filling up and no one would shut the first door, so we couldn't proceed to the second door, and I felt like I was in a fire drill. All of these people are pushing to get out, but there is no exit because it's blocked!! Traumatizing, in fact.

So it was an experience, but maybe there's a reason why it hasn't caught on in the rest of the world. And I know I've been raving about the nice warm weather here, but being in the rain forest tonight was humid and at times I felt like I was suffocating (especially when it stunk like animals). Isn't foliage supposed to make the air clean, not the other way around?! Maybe I will stick to the daytime zoo trips from now on...

Welcome to Singapore!

Singapore Airlines has been rated the #1 airline in the world for many years and even from Economy class, it was easy for me to tell why. Not only are there virtually no lines to board, the staff is all incredibly friendly and personally showed me to my seat on the plane. They had over 1,000 TV & movie choices, and my mind was literally spinning from overload. I didn't know what to choose. I miss everything so much!! In addition, they have 740 music choices, 60 kids game, 70 adult games, and 22 new languages you could learn! The bathrooms you could even turn around in, and it had a cabinet full of free amenities (such as comb, toothbrush & paste, lady products, and baby diapers). We snuggled up with real pillows and real blankets that covered my entire body and had material to spare. They also served me grilled sea bass for lunch! But to top it all off, I liked their colorful flight attendant outfits the best. They even had matching sandals!! When I stepped out of the airport, I knew I was some place special. The temperatures have been in the high 80's and normally I would hate it, but for some reason I am enjoying the break from walking to work in the cold & wind! I love the lush green plants every where (including the highway medians), the brightly colored buildings, and the asymmetrical designs of so much architecture. Plenty of pics to come!

Here is the view of the Singapore River from my hotel room. I am on the 11th floor, and the highest is 30.

Ground level ready to walk along the river and find some thing cool! Pic of my hotel. On the far right, you can see palm trees sprouting from the middle of the building. That's actually the pool on the roof of the 6th floor. I went swimming the first night I arrived. No pics because it was dark!

This is how you know you're in a multi-cultural city! They have 4 official languages: English, Malay, Chinese (Mandarin), and Tamil.

Colorful bridge I passed on my walk.

Picture of me on the bridge on my walk back to the hotel later that night!

Let's take a boat ride on the Singapore River. Our boat is still decorated for the New Year!

Clarke Quay... our departure point. Note all of the colorful buildings. This area is lined with restaurants and bars with indoor & outdoor seating.

Building with blue, green, yellow, and red trimmed windows.

Just in case you doubted who is navigating this tour.

Old building with some new construction in the background. Locals say it's unbelievable how rapidly this city is changing. I say it's unbelievable how many construction cranes can be in one city at a time!!

Some type of colorful stadium seating and the wheel is called the "Singapore Flyer". It's the largest observation wheel in the world. You ride in a glass box with a spectacular view of the city. One rotation takes 30 minutes. I may try to hit it up tomorrow :)

An open-air theater plus some other funky buildings.

Another asymmetrical building under construction. Who knows what all of the crazy stuff is going to be on the ground level near it?!

Singapore is actually called the "Lion City" and here is their famous mascot. His name is Merlion because he is half mermaid & half lion.

Singapore skyline view when entering the Singapore Port.

Oldest building and oldest bridge in Singapore. Both built in 1869. Used to be a post office, but now it the Fullerton Hotel.

Another colorful quay to eat, drink, and be sociable at.

Beautiful asymmetrical architecture.

Entrance to Clarke Quay.

Even the map of Clarke Quay is colorful and has a goofy shape!!

Here's a quick video of the Singapore River. You must go directly to the blog to view it.

Planes, Trains, & Automobiles...

Sunday starts a busy travel week for me. I am taking a business trip to Singapore and China and by my estimates I will be in: 1 train, 3 planes, 2 hired cars, 1 bullet train, and countless taxis. I will also be in 5 airports and have to clear Immigration & Customs 4 times!!

Here's another geography lesson. (You can click on the map to make it larger.) Singapore is in the tropics close to the equator, and I am looking forward to temps in the 80's! Next, I move on to Hong Kong and then to Guangzhou, China. Weather in those areas should be high 50's or low 60's.

Now your next question, I'm sure, is: Isn't Hong Kong part of China?! I've gotten quite the education this week, and the answer is: technically Yes, but for all practical purposes No.

Check out the map below; the yellow line indicates a "border" crossing. Hong Kong is actually a S.A.R. of China, which stands for Special Administrative Region. They have their own currency, passports, parliament, and legal systems. Americans are allowed in Hong Kong without a visa for up to 24 hours, but as soon as I get to the yellow border, I will need to show my visa documentation to enter China.